Amps and Effects

Take a look at the rest of my kit!

TC Helicon BH500 with 2x10 and 2x12

For bass playing I have a TC Helicon BH500 - the last incantation, not the one the size of a sandwich!

I have two cabinets to play through. A 2x10 and a 2x12. When they are stacked together they are almost as tall as me and look really great next to a drummer! For smaller things I tend to favour the 2x10 as they seem to give me a punchier sound. I was an early adopter of small speakers! See below...

I bought this rig to use at a 12 hour 'Songathon' I played at in July 2015 so haven't had a lot of use for it yet but the bassist in my current band has used it and is sounds great!

Session 4x10

I used to use an old Session 100 watt 4x10 bass amp. Before that I had a big Carlsbro rig but got tired lugging it around. I have had this since the early 80's and was a 'pioneer' of smaller speakers. When I started everybody used 15" speakers (some even 18"!) but I found that I didn't get the definition I wanted. Also, if you try to play chords through a large speaker the sound gets muffled. Nowadays a lot of bassists use 10" or even 8" speakers - albeit a great cabinet full of them! I have a 2x10 Carlsbro extension cabinet (from my old rig) that I can use (so I have 6x10) if I play any larger venues. Indeed, with the new TC as well I could have a wall of sound if needed!

Line 6 DT25

I must admit that I don't get to play bass that often any more and that most of the time I'm playing guitar. I had a 'big birthday recently so I splashed out on a new Line 6 DT-25. Having used a keyboard amp with a POD for a long time I wanted some warmer 'valve' tones and boy does this baby deliver.

'Only' 25 watts but it is sooo loud you can't get anywhere near it over half volume! Specifically designed to work with a POD HD500 - which will remotely reconfigure preamp settings - I splashed out on one of them too. I did trade in my old XT live though. The 1st bit of kit I've sold in 25 years!

Line 6 Pod HD-500X

I used to use a Digitech RP6 that was 'my effects' for something like 14 years. In September 2006, after being very impressed with my Variax I got 'PODed up' and was hooked. In August '13 I got an HD500X and, used with a Variax, the range of sounds that you can get are amazing.

Other Amps

Although I don't use the Roland for guitar much any more I sometimes play an electronic drum kit and use this for amplification.

Its sad to say that I rarely take the Taylor out anymore as the acoustic sounds from the Variax, whilst not great, are passable to most ears. If you are looking for versatility, buy one of these!

I also have a little Trace Elliot Acoustic 45 watt amp which I use for, well, acoustic! It gives a good sound up to moderate levels and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a good acoustic sound.